


Werewolves of Los Angeles

by Icka M Chif (mischif)



Category: Green Hornet (2011)
Genre: Case Fic, Friendship, Supernatural Elements, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-11
Updated: 2011-04-11
Packaged: 2017-10-18 01:36:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/183545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mischif/pseuds/Icka%20M%20Chif
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Idea spawned from the <a href="http://greenhornetkink.livejournal.com">Green Hornet Kinkmeme</a> Prompt '<i>Britt gets bitten by a werewolf, starts slowly turning more aggressive and having animal urges, ends up claiming Kato as his mate</i>'. Where the plunnies didn't like the whole 'mating' aspect, they sure did like the werewolf part...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Werewolves of Los Angeles

The unexpected sound of a minor crash startled Kato, causing him to fumble with the gears he was painstakingly putting together.

“Britt?” He called, setting the project aside for the moment, automatically wiping his grease stained hands on a rag as he stepped around his work bench. “I’m going to kick your butt if that is you!”

Britt had been trying to ‘hang out’ lately, to the point that ‘accidentally’ dosing him with sleeping gas for a few days was beginning to look tempting. Especially since Britt kept moving into Kato’s personal space, too close for comfort, causing the two of them to literally trip over each other. He was still attempting to clean up the mess caused from Britt’s last ‘visit’.

He got a woof in response. Confused, he peered around one of the work benches and found a huge red dog standing there.

Not Britt.

“Where’d you come from?” Kato asked, glancing around. The dog bounced on its paws, tail wagging hard enough to cause its long red body to wiggle. The dog whined, leaning down, head on the front paws, tail waving furiously in the hair.

“Hey there.” Kato crouched down, leaning a hand out for the dog to sniff. He wasn't used to being around dogs, but he thought he remembered seeing people greeting dogs like this.

The dog needed no further encouragement as it bound forward, then slid on the smooth concrete floor, crashing into the worktable next to Kato before enthusiastically leaning forward and sniffing Kato’s hand. The hand was giving a small lick, then the large narrow head turned and licked Kato on the chin, happily sniffing Kato’s face and neck.

“Guess that answers the question if you’re friendly or not.” Kato muttered, more to himself than the dog as he pushed the wiggling body away from him. “Down. Back. Back! Sit!”

The dog did so, tail sweeping across the floor. Kato paused. Okay, obviously trained. “Shake?” He offered, holding a hand out.

The dog immediately placed a paw in Kato’s hand. Kato shook it. “Guess you're trained.” Kato ventured. He released the dog’s hand, glancing around as he rose to his feet. “Where’s your owner?” If someone had breached the perimeter, his security alarms should have gone off.

It was kind of pointless to work on the Black Beauty and gadgets for the Green Hornet if anyone could walk by and blow their cover.

He got a blank look from the dog, who tilted its head to the side, tail never stopping its arcs. Kato gave it a thoughtful look, then stepped out of the garage, looking around. “Hello?”

No one there. He walked around, the dog following on his heels as he did a perimeter search, occasionally darting off to jump on leaves, or a shadow. The city was quiet, there were no shouts for a lost dog, no screams for help.

Kato debated briefly to see if Britt had any ideas who the dog belonged to, then decided against it when he glanced at the pool house and found the lights off. Britt was probably out at some party or asleep.

“Alright. You can hang out with me for a little while.” He told the dog as he walked back into his workspace. “I have to finish up some projects, then we can go out and try to find your owner. But don’t touch anything.”

The dog, who had found a stick that it was carrying around in its pointed muzzle, just gave him another blank look. “It’s like talking to Britt.” Kato muttered to himself, wiping his hands again on the rag again before sitting back down on his stool and getting to work.

The dog curled up at the base of the stool, stick between its paws as it set to work on chewing on the end of it. Kato wasn’t sure how healthy that was, but the dog didn’t seemed to be concerned with splinters in its gums.

Eventually the dog fell asleep, the soft sound of its snores filling the air, except when Kato would move, when the dog’s tail would start to thump again as the dog watched him move around. It was peaceful, the sound of another living being in his space. Kato was used to being alone, preferred it most of the time, but the presence of the dog wasn't terribly disruptful.

Hours passed before he felt sleep pressing down on him. He stretched and yawned, working the kinks out of his back. The dog sat up, resting its head on Kato's thigh. “Bed time.” He informed the dog, petting the long textured fur. It was both soft and coarse, an under and over coat. The dog huffed, eyes closing as he got a good spot behind the ears.

After a moment, the dog drew away and walked over to the side door, scratching at it with its paws. Kato opened the door and with one last headbutt to Kato’s leg, trotted off.

“Just stopping by, huh?” Kato murmured before shutting down his workplace and arming the alarms.

* * *

A few weeks later, the dog was back, a tennis ball in its mouth.

“I am not throwing that.” Kato informed the dog when it dropped the ball, the drool covered mass rolling towards his feet.

The dog whined, leaning down so its head was on its forepaws again, tail waving in the air like a banner, giving him a hopeful look. Kato sighed. “Alright. One time. ONE.”

This got him a happy bark, the dog sitting upright again. Kato kicked the ball, the bright green sphere flying. He winced as the ball landed in the pool with a small splosh.

He expected the dog to whine and hover at the edges, waiting for the ball to get to the edge, but the dog let out a triumphant yip and launched itself into the water with a tremendous splash. Kato winced, glancing at the pool house, but Britt didn’t come out to see what was going on. The dog paddled through the water, longer hairs swirling around it as it grabbed the ball and swam back the long way towards Kato, tail acting like a rudder behind it.

The dog hauled itself out of the pool, then shook, water spraying everywhere. Now a dark shade of russet, the dog happily trotted over to him, ball in mouth.

“You are -not- coming into the garage like that.” Kato informed the dog flatly.

The dog’s reaction was to flip the ball into the air, back towards the pool, and launch itself back into the water.

Kato made a face, not understanding how any sane thing would want to get that _wet_.

“And I’m not cleaning up after you either!” He shouted after the dog, who was swimming in circles in the pool, snapping at the water, the tennis ball bobbing just out of reach.

That’s what the pool boy was for.

* * *

”Awww.... And who’s this guy?” Lenore’s voice cooed, drawing Kato’s attention away from what he was working on. “Hello. Who’s a pretty boy? Yes, you are! Yes, you are! Who likes their belly scratched? You do! Yes you do!”

He followed the the flow of affectionate baby talk, finding Lenore crouched down next to the giant red dog. The dog was laying on his back, all four paws in the air in canine glee as Lenore rubbed the dog’s stomach. Occasionally, one of the dog’s legs would start to twitch, much to Lenore’s giggling amusement.

Lenore looked up as he stepped forward. “Hi, Kato!” She smiled at him, looking happy. “When did you and Britt adopt this guy?”

With the legs up in the air, Kato could see that the dog was definitely male. “He is not ours. Mine. Britt’s.” He frowned, then waved it off. “He does not belong to either of us.”

”He seems pretty comfortable here.” Lenore’s delight dimmed some, though she continued to smile. “No collar, but he’s obviously got a home.”

”Yes, the dog stops by occasionally.” Kato nodded. “As long as he behaves himself, I do not mind the company.” Sometimes he wondered if the dog was craving attention, his owners ignoring him. At least the dog seemed well fed.

”Hm.” She made a thoughtful noise as the dog rolled over and sat up, pressing his angular head into her hands. Lenore scratched the dogs ears, the dog making a happy groan as she did so. “Irish Setter, from the looks of it. Although I’ve never seen one quite this large before. Probably worth quite a lot. And he just runs around?”

”Never heard anyone calling for a dog.” Kato shrugged. It wasn't as if he'd had the time or inclination to look up what kind of dog it was. The dog was a dog. He changed the conversation. “What brings you by?”

“Oh! Right!” Lenore gave the dog one last rub of the ears before straightening. “Don’t know if it’s something that you and Britt want to investigate, but there’s been a rise in odd assaults lately. I wanted to get your read on it.”

”Odd?” Kato echoed as Lenore reached into her case and pulled out a sheaf of photographs, handing them over with a serious look on her face. One of Kato’s eyebrows rose as he took it. It took some effort not to grimace as he saw what she meant by ‘odd’.

”That’s not the mark of any animal I have ever seen.” He lay his fingers against the deep furrows carved into the flesh of someone’s leg. They didn’t quite match up, but it was close. The sizing was almost right, but the placement of the thumb was off. “Human?”

”Maybe if humans had three-inch long claws.” Lenore made a face, then flipped to a few different pages, pulling out a nasty bite mark. Not a gouge, like something had bit, then purposely let go for nothing more than the pleasure of inflicting pain. “And a muzzle full of teeth. I took these over to a Zoology expert I know and they don’t match any known species. It’s like a weird cross between a canine and a human jaw.”

”Canine?” Kato frowned. “Like... dog?”

”Or a wolf.” Lenore suggested with a twist of her lips.

”Wolf... man?” Kato’s eyebrows rose as he put connections together in his head.

Lenore let out a soft disbelieving laugh. “Half man, half beast?” She scoffed. “Like a Werewolf?”

”You make it sound strange.” Kato frowned. “The 12 Yao tribes believe themselves descendants of _P'an Hu_ , a dog who married the Emperor’s daughter after defeating a rival general.”

Lenore gave him a skeptical look. “You’re kidding.”

”Why would I kid?” Kato’s eyebrows rose. He’d grown up on many such tales. “He was a shapeshifter. Could change everything but his head. Many animals shapeshift in mythology.”

”True.” Lenore made a face. “Don’t tell Britt though, I can just see him now, trying to figure out how to do just that.”

Kato laughed as he pictured it. In many ways, Britt was like a small child, with boundless energy and curiosity.

Lenore sighed. “Guess I’ll do some research into that angle. Was looking for a more logical reason.”

”If we were looking for logic-“ Kato smirked at her “-we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

She looked surprised for a moment, then laughed. “Or doing what we do.” Lenore grinned broadly at him. Kato grinned back.

Being superheroes by being supervillians was insane, but it worked for them.

”Okay.” Lenore straightened up and sighed, ready to do battle once more. “I’m going to go do a little bit more digging, with an open mind. Was thinking it was some sort of escaped lab creature or something.”

”Or something.” Kato agreed. Definitely some sort of creature.

”Hey!” Britt suddenly appeared, bouncing up to them. Kato mentally braced for impact, it'd been a while since Britt had appeared in the garage and he had everything where he wanted it. “Lenore! What brings you by? Did I miss anything? I did, didn’t I? I could tell, my ears were burning.”

”Nothing much.” Lenore said, tucking the photos back into her bag. Kato looked around, realising the dog was gone. Probably wandered off once it... he wasn’t getting any more attention. “We were looking for logic.”

That earned them a confused look. “Logic? What logic?”

”Exactly.” Lenore patted Britt on the cheek before striding off. “Later, Kato! Thanks again for the second opinion!”

”Anytime.” Kato waved back, meaning it. He greatly enjoyed her company and conversation, even if she had made it blatantly clear that she had no interest in dating, Britt, Kato, or anyone else in that matter.

Britt just glanced between the two of them, a lost puppy-like expression on his face. “No, seriously." Britt reiterated. "What logic?”

”Nothing.” Kato smiled at his friend, realising that it had been a really long time since the two of them had hung out. “I have some new weapons that need testing. Would you care to join me?”

He got a wide grin in return, like he’d just given Britt the greatest gift ever. “Oh yeah! Definitely! Lead on, Kato my man!” Britt beamed at him, wrapping a loose arm around Kato’s shoulders, steering them towards the garage.

Kato still wasn’t much for physical contact, but he didn’t shrug it off this time.

He found he kind of missed it.

  


* * *

The dog got a blanket in the corner of his workshop.

Kato didn’t actually mean to make a bed for the dog, but the animal had found him one night taking a quick nap on the couch, and proceeded to try to cover him up with a ratty old maroon blanket.

He didn't think he'd ever heard of dogs trying to tuck people into bed before, take over the bed yes, but not tuck them in. Which might had something to do with it not working very well, the dog doing little more than dragging it against Kato’s side, but the gesture was appreciated.

Since Kato couldn’t figure out where the blanket had come from, he folded it up into a pad and placed it where the dog could comfortably watch him working.

The dog stopped by more frequently once he had a corner of his own, the soft sounds of the dog intermingling with Kato's music. Occasionally the dog would randomly wake up and walk the perimeter, or to check on Kato, resting his large shaggy head on Kato’s leg, peering up at the workbench as if he stored treats up there.

”Nothing up there for you.” He would scold, pushing the dog’s head to the side. Kato would usually get a grunt in return, the dog either insisting to have his ears rubbed, or the dog would wander off and go back to his blanket to sleep, the sound of his snores filling the air again.

* * *

”Oh! He’s here again!” Lenore proclaimed gleefully, the dog letting out a happy bark as he saw her. She let out a squeal as the dog sniffed her thighs, wet nose just barely avoiding being rude as she rubbed his ears. “Still no sign of the dog’s owners?”

”None.” Kato grinned at her. “He’s not begging for food, although I did start leaving a water bowl out, it’s getting hot.”

It didn’t matter that he knew the toilets around the Reid residence were cleaned regularly, he really didn’t care for walking into the bathroom to find the dog with his head in the toilet bowl getting a drink.

Lenore laughed, shoving her sun glasses to the top of her head. “One of the perks of LA, the ocean breeze tends to keep it at least somewhat temperate. Can you imagine trying to live in Arizona?”

”No, thank you.” Kato shook his head. The summers were bad enough in Southern California without actually living in a desert. At least he didn't have to work all day out in the hot sun.

He wondered where Lenore lived before she moved to Los Angeles. He had a feeling it was someplace cold.

”Is Britt here?” Lenore asked, glancing around.

”Not that I know of.” Kato shrugged. It’d been at least several hours since he’d last seen his friend, if not longer. “He has been rather tricky to get ahold of lately.” It was odd, how Britt went from attempting to be constantly tangled underfoot all the time to rarely being able to spot him.

Even stranger, there were no reports of Britt getting into to trouble, even without their supervision. It was mildly worrying, Kato wondered if it meant for bigger trouble down the road instead of small minor irritation now.

”Yeah, I noticed.” Lenore made a face, then shrugged, holding up a manila envelope. “I need to pick your brains again.”

”My brains are yours.” Kato gave a small bow, motioning towards his workplace. She gave an amused small half curtsy back, following him inside the building. “Can I offer you something to drink?”

”Water, please.” Lenore’s smile grew slightly rueful. “The ocean air may keep the temperature a bit cooler, but it always leaves me slightly sluggish feeling.”

”That is why we have air conditioning in the garage.” Kato nodded, opening his small refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water, spinning the top of with the side of his hand and catching the cap as it flew straight up, keeping it from making a mess in his workspace. “Salt air very bad to cars.”

”Not as bad as the salt on the roads on the east coast.” Lenore said, taking the bottle from him. “Thanks.” She drained most almost half of the bottle before setting it down. “Whew. Okay, I needed that. Thanks.”

”No problem.” Kato waved it off. “What do you have today?”

”Pictures.” Lenore pulled out a stack of photos from her bag again, this time they were clipped together into small groups. “So I went back as far as I could, teasing out details. For the past couple of years, there’s been on again, off again reports of a large creature in the foothills areas, spooking the horse riders. Most of the time it was dismissed as either a mountain lion, a homeless person, or possibly a bear having travelled out of its territory. No pictures or evidence, so mostly ignored. Then about a year ago...”

She set down a photo with the flair of a professional card shark. It was a photo of a woman’s arm, two scratches on it, a defensive injury. “She tried to sneak up on it to take a picture.” Lenore said, tapping the photos. “Both the creature and the camera vanished.”

"That is not normal animal behaviour, is it?" Kato ventured.

"No." Lenore shook her head. "More like hiding its tracks."

Kato’s eyebrow rose. “Intelligent.” Not just a mindless creature then.

Lenore nodded. “Unfortunately, even without the photos, the scars were proof. Even though the media didn’t get ahold of it, the neighbourhood associations did, and more people started looking, travelling deeper into the foothills.”

”The sightings increased.” Kato concluded. Humans were incredibly stupid sometimes.

”Only on the full moon.” Lenore briefly smirked. “Now, it could be because it’s easier to see things away from the city lights on a full moon-“

”-Or it only comes out to play on the full moon.” Kato finished the thought.

Lenore nodded and set down a couple more photos. Men this time, with deeper wounds. Marks as if someone had knives attached to the ends of their fingertips. “They attacked.” Kato deduced, noting the gun calluses on the close ups of the fingers and hands.

”Yeah. Hurt, but alive.” Lenore nodded. “Then we get to a couple of months ago.”

Four people this time, drug runners from their appearance. They had a hungry angry look in their eyes, like coyotes in human clothing. Kato knew the type, he’d dealt with them in Shanghai, and seen them here in Los Angeles fighting along side Britt as the Green Hornet. The kind that would sell you their sister if they thought it would make them a profit.

”According to the reports, they stumbled up on it by accident and one of them tried tranq it with some stuff they had. Unfortunately, they weren’t carrying any downers.”

”And the wolf man went wild.” Kato frowned, feeling a momentary spike of pity for the creature.

”No deaths, but it was a near thing.” Lenore shuffled the photos, pulling one out. “And we have the first bite marks.”

Deep gouges on the man’s dark arms, teeth indentations visible where the man was bit, but then released. “This guy is now missing.” Lenore added helpfully. “The next month...”

She laid the photos out. One was a homeless man, his throat torn out and intestines splayed as if ravaged by a wild animal. Two with gang related tattoos, their bodies looking as if they’d been used as chewtoys. Kato couldn’t help the grimace on his face. He’d seen a lot of foul things, but that didn’t mean it was always easy to look upon.

”And it escalates from there.” Lenore set a few smaller stacks down, each one representing a different month, a different full moon. They got progressively thicker. Kato frowned to himself, picking a few of the photos of the drug runners, and some of the photos of after their attack, comparing the claw marks.

”Different hands.” He pointed out, motioning to the spacing of the claws on the second set. “These are closer, smaller. The original claw marks are bigger.”

”Yeah, I noticed that too.” Lenore made a face as she picked up the picture of the ravaged homeless man. “I’ve been wondering if he wasn’t the original one.”

”Spread through the bite?” Kato’s eyebrow rose. He eyed the stacks of the more recent months, mildly dreading flipping through the photos. He could do it, but he didn’t need more nightmare fuel in his head than he already had. ”Any left alive with claw marks?”

”The first ones are all still alive and fine. Other than their scars. After this guy?” Lenore looked tired. “All dead.”

”Killer party?” Britt inquired, startling both of them. Britt looking back and forth expectantly at the the two of them as he stepped closer. “Hey! Lenore! I thought I saw your car out front!”

”Hey, Britt.” Lenore smiled at him, straightening up. Kato hid a smirk, having noticed Lenore’s habit of not leaning or bending over too much when Britt was around. Britt tended to enjoy both views a little too much, and it showed on his expression.

”Whatcha got?” Britt asked, twisting his head to look at the photos. He made a comical disgusted face. “This... isn’t for a movie, is it?” He ventured weakly.

”Unfortunately, no.” Lenore gave him a soft smile. For as much carnage as they caused, Britt had a soft heart.

”Oh.” Britt’s expression fell. “Ew. We going after this guy?”

”That is the plan.” Kato confirmed.

Britt nodded, like he had expected no less. He picked up the stack of photos from the previous month and flipped through, his expression shifting to one of vague horror. “I think we’re going to want some heavy duty firepower for this.” He commented, the statement filled with less joy than usual at the prospect.

”Special.” Lenore looked at Kato. “I can get silver, if you can make some bullets.”

”Wait, what?” Britt started laughing. “Silver bullets? Are you putting me on?”

”Logical.” Kato shrugged, figuring out the best way for a silver projectile weapon. Slivers, maybe. “Silver does not hold an edge very well.”

”Wait... wait...” Britt held up a hand. “You’re telling me we’re going up against... What? A Werewolf? Count Dracula?” He demanded incredulously.

”Werewolf.” Kato admitted.

“Right. Now you’re just pulling my leg.” Britt said, tossing the photos down. “Contact me when we’re going after something that actually exists.” He waved at them, walking away.

Lenore shared a look with Kato as Britt disappeared. “That was weird. It's not just me right? Britt was acting weird.”

”Very.” Kato agreed, scooping the photographs up and straightening them. He frowned. Usually Britt was eager to go kick all manner of kinds of butt, or at least attempt to do so. The abrupt change of face was... unusual. He handed Lenore the photos and hurried out the door to see if he could catch up to his adopted brother.

Britt wasn’t terribly fast, but somehow, he was no where in sight when Kato got outside. The Irish Setter was laying down on the ground, tail thumping a few times, but looked subdued, as if he had been scolded.

Britt had pulled another disappearing act. Kato swore quietly to himself.

Britt was getting rather good at that.

* * *

Kato discovered he had a habit of frequently talking to the dog only after the dog had chosen a name.

He was more embarrassed to realise how much he’d gotten into the habit of having a live creature to talk to, even if they weren’t a person. He was used to solitude, spending days without talking, save singing along to music, even after Britt had really come into his life.

Fortunately, the dog did not sing along. For the most part, music was ignored unless he played classical, in which case the tail seemed to wave around like a baton. They were both especially fond of Chopin.

He listened to the news occasionally, seeing if there was anything worth their attention, or if the Green Hornet had made the news again. The latter always brought mixed feelings, seeing as they were helping people, but only through their facade as villains. Usually, the news reports were more amusing than not, seeing how wrong they got their details, most of them copying verbatim from the Daily Sentinel instead of doing their own research.

And some times they were annoying, relying on blatant speculation. The latest was ruminations on Kato’s role in their partnership, which was absolute bullshit and he had no problems calling it such.

And got an inquiring sound from the setter, who is suddenly sitting up and looking at him expectantly.

” _Nǐ ge gǒu pì._ ” Kato repeated. The dog made an expectant sound, as if Kato had just called him over by name. Kato raised an eyebrow. “ _Gǒu pì_.” He repeated. The dog tilted his head to the side.

Kato’s eyebrows rose. “ _Gǒu_.” He said carefully. The dog barked. “ _Pì_.” Nothing, just a blank look.

” _Gǒu_ means ‘Dog’.” He explained to the dog in English. “I said he made as much sense as a dog fart. He stupid.”

The dog whined and moved forward to nudge Kato’s hand in a demand for petting. “I wasn’t naming you _Gǒu_.” Kato protested, even as he scratched the dog behind the ears. “There are better names.”

Gǒu didn’t seem to care.

Kato shook his head in amusement. He would end up keeping company with the only canine in creation who thought its name was ‘Dog’.

* * *

”What are we doing here?” Britt, the Green Hornet, asked as they drove around Silver Lake. The nearly full moon rose in the distance, a dark red coloured disk on the edge of the sky, turning a dusty orange as it cleared the Los Angeles smog. “Thought we were staying home tonight.”

”Change of plan.” Kato shrugged. “Mastermind found something, wanted us to check it out. Bad news.”

A lie, but only part. Lenore narrowed down the area for attacks several days previously. This werewolf, like the previous one, had a territory. Interlopers into the territory were dealt with.

”Uh-huh.” Britt said dismissively, staring up at the bleeding moon. “More ‘werewolf’ stuff?”

”Wolf stuff anyway.” Kato shrugged. “New player.”

In looking for more werewolf attacks, they’d almost missed the whispers on the street about a new player rising in power. One who started a couple of months previously. Someone who was rumoured to **eat** their opponents.

 _El Lobo_.

The Wolf.

It was just a little bit too much to be coincidental.

That got an interested gleam in Britt’s eye. “Game plan?”

”Find the boss and take them out.” Kato grinned back, stretching out his fingers and gripping the Black Beauty’s steering wheel in anticipation of a good fight.

”Ah.” Britt’s teeth gleamed in a smile. “The usual.”

Kato allowed his grin to turn slightly feral. He **liked** the usual.

He flicked on the radio, Warren Zevon crooning ‘Werewolves Of London’ blasting through the speakers. Britt shot Kato a dirty look as Kato sang along to the chorus. “Aa-Ooooooooooooo, Werewolves of London, Ahh-Oooooooooo...”

Britt finally rolled his eyes and shook his head as Kato sang along about a little old lady being mutilated the night before.

”Shouldn’t that be ‘Werewolves of Los Angeles’?” Britt pointed out with ill humour as Kato howled out the chorus again.

Kato just shrugged, humming along to the parts of the song he didn’t know. Britt just rolled his eyes, sulking in the seat like a child while Warren cheerfully sang about places Kato had never been to in the UK and ripping people’s lungs out.

All the while snappily dressed. Kato straightened his cuffs. He could relate.

Britt finally relented and joined in for singing about a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's, adding a bit of comical flourish to “His hair was perfect.”

Kato grinned to himself as Britt joined in howling the ‘Aa-Ooooos’ on the chorus, their voices intermingling in the car.

They didn’t find El Lobo that night, but they had an enjoyable time hunting and kicking butt.

* * *

”It’s like a carpet in here.” Kato said, wiping some sweat off his head as he kicking away a rust coloured lump of hair, closing the door on the stale humid Los Angeles heat behind him. The hair rolled across the floor, joining more little rust coloured tufts of dog hair. “Why do you shed so much?”

Gǒu simply scratched behind an ear with his hind leg, then paused and nibbled the base of his tail.

”Right.” Kato shook his head. “Whose bright idea was it to bring a double coated dog to a desert climate?”

The dog let out a groan as in agreement, stretching across the cool concrete floor. “Go jump in the pool.” Kato suggested, setting down the box of real silver silverware he’d picked up at a thrift store for cheap. Some people had no idea the worth of the things they threw away. Just because something was old and used did not make it inferior. There were even a few mis-matched pieces that he liked enough to keep, maybe make into jewellery for Lenore, but the rest were being melted down to be used for weaponry.

Gǒu let out another pitiful groan, as if it were too hot to think of leaving the garage.

”Alright, fine.” Kato grumbled as he began sorting the silverware into pieces to melt and pieces to keep. “But you’re going to have to start vacuuming after yourself.”

That caught Gǒu’s attention, the dog raising his head to stare at Kato for a minute. Then with a derisive snort, the setter turned his back to Kato and went back to sleep. Kato snickered to himself before getting to work.

* * *

The next day, Kato found Gǒu sniffing a small flat round machine that was wandering around the garage. The setter looked fascinated by it, tail wagging slowly as the small machine stopped at a wall, turned, and started chasing after the rust coloured dust bunnies that lined the edge of the wall.

“What’s this?” He asked, putting his hand on Gǒu’s shoulders as he crouched down to examine the machine. A small label on the top declared it to be a ‘Roomba’. Kato’s eyebrows rose. “A vacuum? Where did it come from?”

Gǒu’s tail thumped against him. Kato gave him a considering look.

.... Strange.

* * *

Things were not going well.

Well they were, and they weren’t.

The good news was that they had found El Lobo.

The bad news.... was that they found El Lobo.

Who was a Werewolf.

As in a giant genuine fur-bearing, giant gaping maw full of razor sharp teeth and handfuls of terrifying claws.

El Lobo was not happy to see them.

”What the hell-?” Britt gaped as Kato put Black Beauty in reverse, the werewolf just barely avoiding landing on the black car’s hood. Kato had built the Black Beauties to put up with a great deal abuse, unthinking amounts of damage, but he wasn’t sure how well they’d fare up against a supernatural creature.

Not well, as El Lobo leapt again, scrambling across the hood, up onto the roof, causing it to make disturbing groaning sound.

”We got anything for the roof?” Britt asked, looking frantically at the buttons on the dashboard, although he refrained from touching anything. Kato had trained him well on that at least.

”No.” An oversight Kato would be correcting soon. He was distracted a fist fracturing the window next to his head, causing the bullet resistant glass to crack like a spider’s web. Bad batch, that one. The glass dented inwards as it struck again, a third strike shattered the glass everywhere. A hairy hand reached in towards him and he stabbed it with a small silver knife, more like a needle or a dart, the flesh smoking where the silver touched it.

The resulting howl was as ear-deafening as it was satisfying.

Britt made a soft almost whimper of surprise and Kato noted that his partner was not staring towards the werewolf in horror, but appeared to be shocked at _Kato_ , which was _wrong_ , but Kato was little occupied to do more than file it away.

Claws appeared on Britt’s side and he yelped, leaning towards Kato, but his window held. Kato glanced around, trying to find a way to get the werewolf off Black Beauty. They were relatively safe inside the car, but they couldn’t stop the werewolf while it was on top of them. If he could get it either to the front or back, they could see how much damage normal bullets could cause a werewolf.

”Tree!” Britt pointed in front of them and Kato swerved towards it, rather than away. The abrupt stop sent them rocking and the werewolf flying behind them to the ground.

”Guns.” Kato said calmly, reaching for the door and activating the machine guns. He was at a better angle than Britt as they opened fire upon the mass of spitting dark fur. He’d switched to a larger calibre, hoping that it would knock enough holes in the werewolf to take it out.

Unfortunately, it only seemed to make El Lobo madder.

”Look out!” Britt shouted as the werewolf charged at them. Kato switched over to throwing a handful of the thin narrow knives at the creature, which smoked slightly where the knives penetrated the thick fur. He’d gotten a fair amount of silver, but it was still limited, so he’d designed the knives like thorns, to get in and stick in order to slow down the werewolf, knowing they weren’t enough to kill.

He reached back for his secret weapon, to find it wasn’t where he’d originally placed it. Time seemed to slow down as he turned his eyes away for a second, realising with a sickening horror that the werewolf was too close. El Lobo was unnaturally fast, grabbing Kato and flinging him away from the car. Time snapped back to normal as Kato rolled, attempting to gain control of the situation as the werewolf charged towards him.

And suddenly Britt was there, on the werewolf’s back. Kato struggled to his feet as the werewolf twisted under Britt, catching Britt’s trenchcoat covered arm in El Lobo’s massive maw, razor sharp teeth cutting through the thick leather like it wasn’t there.

”No!” Kato yelled, horrified as the werewolf turned, jaws opening to fling Britt away. Britt hit the ground with a meaty thump, rolling over once before coming to a stop, the green sleeve of Britt’s leather trenchcoat dark black with blood and saliva.

El Lobo laughed, a horrifying cackle as it stared at the Green Hornet’s fallen body, Kato forgotten as it advanced towards Britt, like an animal playing with their prey before eating it. Kato scrambled to get back to the Black Beauty, he had one thing that was guaranteed to take it down once and for all.

He’d just reached the car when a growl made the hair on the back of his neck rise. Kato glanced back to find the dark werewolf stopped, staring at Britt.

Britt, who was growing, changing, shaping. Red rust coloured fur covered his face, jaw elongating as wicked looking teeth grew in. Claws ripped out of the green gloves, fingers scrambling up and gripping the trench coat, ripping it away.

Britt was turning into a werewolf.

Kato could only stare in horror as as Britt dropped the remains of the trenchcoat, twisted his long narrow head to the side to cracked his neck, then launched himself at El Lobo, tackling the larger werewolf back towards Kato.

Heart pounding in his ears, Kato grabbed the curved katana he’d carefully etched and covered with silver, dodging out of the way as Britt slammed El Lobo into the tree they were pressed against, a wordless growl on his lips.

Time slowed down as Kato swung the katana, the curved blade slicing cleanly through El Lobo’s head, missing the hair on Britt’s head by millimetres. The sword seemed to glow in the light as passed through flesh and bone, before stopping, embedded partway into the tree. He pulled the blade out, turning to face Britt.

Britt, who was backing away, holding his head. Kato hesitated as the Britt’s form seemed to _waver_ for a moment, then shrunk, jaw shrinking back in, fur falling out and fading away.

”Kato.” Britt gasped, holding a hand out towards him, either to stop Kato in his step or in supplication, Kato couldn’t tell. “I’m fine.” Britt informed him, crouched down, head almost between his knees.

”You’ve been bitten.” Kato protested, adjusting the grip on the sword, priming to swing, even as doubts stayed his hand.

”I know.” Britt gave him a crooked smile, as if it was hard for him to ignore such a fact. “It’s fine. I’ll be fine in the morning.”

”Yes.” Kato frowned. “Until the next full moon.” When he’d turn into a monster again.

”Trust me.” Britt looked up at him, then winced as his form rippled, teeth sharpening then dulling again as Kato watched. “It’ll be fine. Please, **_please_** , trust me. This once, trust me.”

Kato wavered.

”You have... Two choices.” Britt panted as his spine seemed to swell and shrink, causing him to groan in agony. “You can trust me, and everything will be fine in the morning. Or you don’t. I run, you chase, we fight, and I’ll end up hurting you.” Britt’s muddy green eyes stared imploringly at Kato. “I don’t want to fight you.”

The moment stretched, Kato hovering on indecision.

A siren wailing in the distance made up his mind. “Get in the car.” He said, motioning behind him. Britt nodded, reaching down and grabbing the remains of his trenchcoat as he staggered, half bent over. He opened the back door of the car, more falling in than actually getting in. Kato shut the door behind him, getting into the front seat of the car, glancing at the remains of El Lobo as he did so.

There was no werewolf body laying there, merely a greasy looking man, his head separated from his shoulders. Pressing his lips together, Kato shut his door, putting Black Beauty into reverse and quickly driving away as the police lights lit up horizon.

They drove in silence aside from the occasional grunts from the backseat. Kato adjusted the rear view mirror to observe the back seat, watching as Britt twitched and twisted in pain, clutching at his body as it warped and changed. Kato said nothing, keeping one hand on the katana. It could cut through the front seat to get to Britt if he needed to, if Britt attacked.

”Oh, God.” Britt gasped, as they made it to the secret entrance to their lair. “This isn’t working.” Kato glanced back in alarm, realising that Britt was shifting again, but this time there was none of the blurring back into his normal human form. Britt’s eyes, brown now, caught Kato’s in the reflection of the mirror. “I’m sorry, Kato.”

Panic flashed through him as Kato quickly got them inside, and scrambled out of the car, sword in hand. He opened the back door, Britt, now completely unrecognisable as a half-man creature slid out.

And then kept changing, from a bipedal creature to a slightly smaller canine shape, partly obscured by the twisted clothing.

A **familiar** canine shape.

” _ **Gǒu?!**_ ” The word was past his lips before Kato was aware he’d said it as he stared.

The giant Irish Setter’s tail thumped weakly, brown eyes guiltily staring up at him.

* * *

Gǒu spent the rest of the night on his blanket, tucked away in the corner. He whimpered and shook the entire night, as if fighting nightmares or a fever. Kato watched from nearby, his silver throwing knives and katana close at hand. He didn’t want to kill Britt, but he would if Britt became a threat.

If it would save someone else’s life.

Everything would be fine in the morning, Britt had said. Trust him.

Kato did. More than anyone else, really. He’d never had a brother before. Anyone he could trust at his back, anyone who just wanted to hang out with him for the sake of hanging out with him, not because they wanted someone.

He felt a small twinge of guilt for shoving Britt away, wondering if that was why Gǒu had started showing up. Kato was a private person, liking quiet and solitude, while Britt... was the opposite. He thrived under attention, soaking it up like a cactus in the rainy season, like he couldn’t get enough.

He thought of all the times he’d wondered about Gǒu, how the dog seemed to understand him when he spoke english. The blanket. The close contact.

... The Roomba.

How Britt seemed to act like Gǒu, the childish, playful, energetic behaviour that was so common to them both. The behaviour didn’t change, even if the shape did.

Kato checked the time on his computer. It was eleven minutes after six am, right inbetween the six minute gap of sunrise and moonset. Britt was finally calming down, the shivers and twitching fading as the sky lightened outside. Kato kept a careful eye on him, the minutes slipping by.

At least he'd left a message for Lenore that they'd be incapacitated until later this afternoon. One less thing to worry about.

It wasn’t until the sun had been up for several minutes that Gǒu, finally stirred. He let out a muffled groan, rolling onto his belly and yawning, showing off a full set of sharp teeth in the long narrow muzzle. Gǒu slowly stretched, first the front legs, then the back, each accompanied by moans that didn’t sound entirely pleasurable, before finally sitting up, tail thumping faintly a few times.

”Are you going to change back?” Kato asked, one hand idly resting on the handle of the katana. Gǒu glanced at the not so subtle warning, then with a weary groan, began to change. It was like water rippling, muscles and bones stretching and popping as they changed. He looked huge at the halfway point, feet and head too big for his body before he shrank back into a naked pale human shape.

”Um.” Britt said, holding his hands in front of him to hide his genitals. The carpet matched the drapes, Kato noted with some distant mild amusement as Britt’s face flushed with embarrassment. The large bright pink half-healed scars on Britt’s arm from El Lobo’s teeth aren’t quite as amusing. “Got any pants?”

.... Something that Kato had not actually thought about, or anticipated. The ones Britt as the Green Hornet had been wearing the previous night were trashed, having not held up during the transformation.

”Blanket.” He pointed towards Britt’s feet. He expected some sort of protest, but Britt practically dove for it, wrapping the maroon fabric around himself like he was freezing. Kato frowned as he noticed that not all of the flush on Britt’s face was from embarrassment. His forehead was wet with sweat, eyes slightly glassy. “You said you would be fine by morning.”

”I am.” Britt leaned against the wall, cocooned in the blanket, head tilted back, leaving his throat exposed. That meant something, Kato knew, but couldn’t place it. “It’s just a bit of a fever. Like fighting off the flu. It can’t actually hurt me.”

”Hmm.” Kato accepted this. “How long have you been able to turn into a dog?”

Britt shrugged. “All my life. Born like that.”

”It’s genetic?” Kato questioned in surprise.

“I guess. My whole family was born with it, it’s just normal for us.” Britt shifted, as if trying to make himself comfortable. “I could bite you and it wouldn’t change you. Can’t pass it on or anything. I’m safe, I promise.” He added sincerely.

”And El Lobo?”

”Different branch of lycanthropy.” Britt grimaced. “That branch is like... a virus. A mutant virus. It’s trying to turn you into a full wolf, or dog, or cat or what ever. But it can’t push the body past a certain point, so you’re stuck at the halfway point. It’s like going out of your mind with pain, not one thing or another.” He shivered, pulling the blanket closer. “Helped turning into a dog.” Britt muttered, looking like he wished he was Gǒu at that moment.

”And your family turns into... Irish Setters?” Kato ventured.

Britt snorted. “No.” He said bitterly. “I’m the runt of the family. Dad turned into a Bull Mastiff. Only breed developed to hunt humans. Mom was a Collie, always trying to herd people out of trouble, with her charities and things. You know what Irish Setters do?”

”Play ball?” Kato asked guilelessly. He’d never looked up what the breed did, all he knew was from watching Gǒu. “Swim? Shed a lot?” Demand attention?

”They find trouble.” Britt said, the acidic touch in his voice like he was quoting someone. “They’re not protectors. They’re hunting dogs. And not even particularly useful ones, they don’t even retrieve or track a scent. They make a loud noise and go ‘Look! There’s something here!’, and then someone else has to take care of it. All they do is find trouble.”

There were days when Kato was sincerely glad that James Reid was no longer with them.

Although really, that was a good description for what they did as the Green Hornet. Chaos had always seemed to follow Britt, but as the Green Hornet, it had a focus. Britt would stumble into something, Kato would kick butt and get them out of there, and the police would clean up the rest. Britt forged the path, told them where to go.

”I think that a very good thing.” Kato said slowly.

The look he got from Britt was one of startled confusion, shifting into wary resignation. “Life be very boring otherwise.” Kato amended, picking up the silver daggers and putting them into a metal box, closing the lid on top. The katana was similarly placed in it’s scabbard.

Britt was staring at him with a look of... almost wonderment. It was eerily similar to the look of adoration Gǒu gave Kato when he threw a tennis ball, like Kato was the best person **ever**. “Thank you.” Britt finally whispered after he realised that Kato had caught him staring.

”Silver affect you the same way?” Kato inquired, locking the box and putting it under the work table.

”It burns, yes.” Britt said distantly, looking like he was trying to recoil from it without moving. “Like acid. Can’t heal around it.”

Kato nodded, making a mental note to keep anything silver well away from Britt. The katana was similarly stashed out of sight. “The thing I don’t understand.” Kato confided as he pushed the sword as far into the workstation as he could. “Is why you were following me around as Gǒu.”

”Oh, uh...” Britt scratched the back of an ear with a hand, looking abashed as he suddenly found the floor absolutely fascinating. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

Kato resisted the urge to smirk as he crossed his arms and waited. It didn’t take long for Britt to crack. “Y’know how dogs have... ‘Their Person’?” Britt ventured, sounding highly embarrassed. “They’re okay getting attention from other people, but they have one person that's 'Their Person', who they follow around?”

Kato hadn’t spent much time around dogs, but that sounded a lot like what he observed. “Yes-?” He ventured. Britt just hesitantly stared at him, looking like he was getting ready to to duck a punch. “Wait.” Kato faltered. “You’re saying that _I’m_ your person?!”

”It’s nothing kinky or weird!” Britt waved his hands, then dived for the blanket as it tried to fall. “It’s just... I like spending time with you. But every time _I_ show up, I have to have some sort of reason, or an excuse and...”

It was the first question Kato asked whenever Britt showed up, what did Britt want. “And I didn’t ask that of Gǒu.” He finished. It was taken for granted that the dog just wanted to spend time with him, no questions asked.

Britt nodded, looking shame faced as he licked his lower lip. “I couldn’t tell you, no one’s supposed to know. Werewolves, shapeshifters, it’s only safe because we supposedly don’t exist. It’s one of the first lessons we’re taught as pups.”

’We’, that meant there was more than just Britt. There were others. “That’s why you acted weird when you saw us looking at the pictures.”

”Yeah.” Britt rubbed the back of his head. “I knew the old guy, ran with him a few times. Nice guy, just got a bad hand in life. Mostly stayed in the area to be close to his family. Bit of an oddity, really. Usually people who get bit don’t live that long. If someone like El Lobo pops up, the rest of us take them down.”

”Can’t have people know you’re real.” Kato nodded.

”Yeah.” Britt agreed, staring at him intently.

”I’m not going to tell anyone.” Kato assured him. “Your choice to tell Lenore. Or not.”

Britt grimaced. “Maybe later.” He muttered, shifting and pulling the blanket closer to him again. Grey skinned exhaustion was starting to creep up on his expression, now that the fight that they were both bracing for didn’t happened. And Kato doubted that the few hours of restless sleep were enough to recover from El Lobo’s bite, already a werewolf or not.

Kato nodded. “Time for sleep.” He announced, sliding off the stool. “Do you need a hand?” He asked, noticing that Britt hadn’t moved away from the wall that he was leaning against.

”Naw, I’m gonna.” Britt waved a circular shape in the air that somehow managed to convey that he was going to turn back into a dog. “I’m more comfortable like that.” Britt admitted sheepishly, and if he were Gǒu, the tail would be making small slow circles.

”Okay.” Kato agreed. Britt tilted his head to the side, like he wasn’t expecting Kato’s easy acceptance of the situation. Kato stared back, trying not to let his amusement show.

He’d almost lost his best friend to a huge supernatural creature a few hours ago. Finding out that his best friend was also his strange canine companion was odd, but a relief compared to the former.

Britt relaxed, apparently reading something in Kato’s face or posture and began to shift again. It took barely any time, if Kato had blinked, he would have missed most of it, and suddenly a huge Irish Setter was standing there in the place of Britt.

Gǒu walked up to Kato, head down as if expecting a reprimand, then sniffed Kato’s hand. Gǒu recoiled and sneezed, reminding Kato that he’d been fondling the silver blades for the past several hours. But by the headbutt that followed against his leg, he was forgiven for it. Then Gǒu wandered off, tail trailing after like it didn't have the energy to be it's usual banner, leaving a smear of rust coloured hairs on Kato’s black trouser leg.

Kato chuckled to himself, then rubbed his eyes, feeling the night catch up with him.

Britt. Gǒu. Werewolves. Gods.

Kato owed Lenore an apology for her skepticism when he brought up _P'an Hu_ and the Yao being descended from a dog.

He hadn’t entirely believed it himself at the time...

* * *

Kato felt a presence next to his stool, the slight shift in weight not disturbing him, but letting him know that he wasn’t alone. No words were said, just the sound of someone else breathing in the garage. When he had a hand free, he reached down and stroked the head he knew would be there.

And was startled to find it wasn’t the one he was expecting.

Britt sat on the floor, his back against the stool as he watched videos on a pad, headphones on his ears. At the touch, Britt looked up at him, then hit pause on the video. “This okay?” He asked nervously, tugging an earbud free. “I can change, if you’d rather.”

Kato thought about it, realising what it would look like if anyone else came in to see Britt sitting at his feet. Which really, would only be Lenore. Who thought they were probably shagging anyway.

”It is fine.” Kato shrugged. No fumbling excuses needed, just the company of a friend. He absently trailed his fingers through the mop of hair on Britt’s head. The texture of his hair was slightly different, more prone to sticking up than laying flat, but familiar enough that it didn’t feel strange. Britt made a contented sound in the back of his throat, eyes drifting shut as Kato idly dug his fingers in, massaging Britt’s scalp with his finger tips. He half expected to see Britt’s leg twitch, like Gǒu’s did when Kato got a particularly good spot.

Huh.

If they made a habit of this, he was going to have to put some of those rubber mats on the concrete floor to make it more comfortable for Britt to sit. Actually, that wasn't a bad idea anyway.

Kato turned his attention back to his designs, trying to figure out if it was better for the roof of the Black Beauty to grow spikes or electrocute the entire surface of the car to keep people from jumping on top, one hand occasionally sliding through Britt’s hair.

It was quiet. Peaceful, even. Companionable. Britt had even brought something to do, so he was entertained while Kato worked. Compromise.

"Sit. Stay." Kato smiled to himself, petting Britt’s head. “Good Boy.”

He got an irritated look in response. “I can still bite you.” Britt warned, just a flash of fang extending and disappearing. Being bitten by Britt wouldn't change him, but it would still **hurt**. “Just so you know.”

"I know." Kato grinned and turned back to work, Britt a comfortable presence at his side.

-fin-

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> _'Werewolves of London'lyrics and tune belong to Warren Zevon, Green Hornet and associated characters belong to their owners. Used without permission, no profit is being made from this work of fiction._
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  _And yes, that's really what the fullish moon looks like rising over the pollution of LA. It's purple and red and orange, then yellow for a while before turning silver almost directly overhead. The night sky is never black, the light pollution keeps it red and purple._  
>  Sunsets are especially red because of the smog.


End file.
